DOING
THINGS THE CALGARY WAY: To most Canadians, Calgary, Alberta, is the Cowboy
City, a remote Western outpost boasting plenty of corporate bigwigs and
independent-minded entrepreneurs, but little in the way of such traditional
urban accessories as culture, art, or music. That view of the city appeared to
be supported by last month's collapse of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra,
which closed up shop (at least temporarily) with nary a peep to be heard from
the moneyed classes. One local columnist even suggested that the CPO deserved
to die because his CD of the Berlin Philharmonic sounded better. But the CPO
may yet have life, thanks to some distinctly Calgarian efforts from a local
real estate magnate, and speculation has begun about what other work will be
required to reinvigorate the ensemble. Calgary
Herald 10/31/02

WATCH THE PAINT DRY
LIVE! The renovation of Milan's famed La Scala opera house is causing no
small amount of controversy among Italy's notoriously belligerant opera fans,
due in large part to a modernist design which has raised the hackles of
traditionalists. Now, the city of Milan has mounted a web site
which will show the progress of the renovation and offer notes on the design. Andante (ADN Kronos) 10/31/02

Wednesday October
30

DETROIT
SEES RED: Add the Detroit Symphony to the list of American orchestras
posting deficits. The $500,000 shortfall on a budget of $28 million is smaller
than other major orchestras, but it's the second year in a row the DSO has
failed to balance its books. Detroit Free Press
10/29/02

YOUNG
DEFENDS HER ROLE: Opera Australia artistic director Simone Young says that
contrary to reports, her planned season would not have put the company $10
million in debt. Also that the company's board misunderstood her artistic role
and expected her to also operate as a manager. In September Young was told
that her contract would not be renewed. Sydney
Morning Herald 10/30/02

MUSIC
COMPANIES COULD ALIENATE CONSUMERS: A new survey suggests that consumers
will feel alienated by copy-protecting measures by recording companies if CDs
don't play on any player they own. The survey says that "the majority of
music buyers questioned believed they should have the right to make copies of
CDs they have bought, either as back up or for family and friends." BBC 10/29/02

Tuesday October 29

THE
DEATH OF THE AUDIO CASSETTE: The audio cassette is for all intents dead.
"The end, on some strange and intellectually picky level, of the crucial
dialectic between Side A and Side B, and the idea that songs talk to one
another and take you someplace. Is the death of the cassette as sweetly sad as
the death, years ago, of the vinyl record? No, the professor sighs. Well,
maybe yes. 'It's a mixed romance'... Washington
Post 10/29/02

THE
PROBLEM WITH SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAS: Symphony orchestras across America are
struggling with money (or rather, a lack of it). "What's the problem with
classical music? As it turns out, all unhappy symphony orchestras are unhappy
in their own way, but the answer is surprisingly consistent. "It really
is 'the economy, stupid.' It's affecting all those revenue sources -
especially corporate, foundation, government and individual donations - that
are crucial to an orchestra's bottom line." Los
Angeles Times 10/29/02

Monday October 28

OLDER
STARS ABANDON RADIO: Noticed that older musicians seem to be showing up on
the tube more often? "Television - and not just MTV - has supplanted
radio as the chief means of exposing new music, particularly for veteran
artists. Shrinking radio playlists have less room for new music. Far more
radio stations are likely to play James Taylor's Fire and Rain, for
example, than take a chance on his new single." Nando Times 10/27/02

PLOT
PROBLEM: Why are opera stories often so ridiculous? When one thinks of all
the effort that goes into composing and producing an opera, it seems odd that
plots are often so ludicrous. But many are classic stories, and "some
stories grow over centuries - each new generation's projections and
alterations ripening them until, eventually, they become mythic. With each
successful retread, a story will gain in resonance and meaning - reinforcing
its power to move and inform us." The
Guardian (UK) 10/28/02

PLANS FOR COPENHAGEN'S
OPERA HOUSE IN DISPUTE: Plans for Copenhagen's new Opera House were
unveiled last week, but Henning Larsen, the project's architect, wasn't
present for the event after apparent disagreements with the owner about what
the project would look like. "It's an embarrassing situation at the
moment, and it would be sad for Copenhagen if Henning Larsen resigned from the
opera house project. I can't even bear the thought. It would be like the
Sydney Opera House all over again." Copenhagen
Post 10/25/02

Sunday October 27

THE
MODERN ORCHESTRA MODEL: With orchestras collapsing and gasping for breath
all across the continent, the San Francisco Symphony is firmly in the black,
artistically sound, and universally acknowledged to be one of the most
musically daring ensembles in the world. Is it the ultra-trendy city? The
dynamic and flashy music director? Don't fool yourself: the SFS is where it is
due to prescient long-range planning, an unswerving commitment to its
audience, and a top-notch management team which foresaw the economic collapse
five years before it happened, and had a 'Plan B' ready to roll. Dallas Morning News 10/27/02

ARTEMIS
STYMIED AT THE BORDER: The Artemis Quartet has been forced to cancel a
U.S. tour after cellist Eckart Runge's visa was held up by U.S. authorities.
What would cause such governmental concern over a respected musician from a
friendly European country? It seems that, 11 years ago, while a student at the
Aspen Music Festival, Runge stole a 99-cent pair of tweezers from a pharmacy,
which was enough to trigger a lengthy background check. The New York Times 10/26/02

NEW
HOPE IN COWBOY CITY: Hold that funeral procession! The Calgary
Philharmonic Orchestra may yet have life, after a prominent real estate
company announced plans to help the ensemble sell 700 'voucher packages' to
its corporate clients at $500 apiece. The company's CEO is confident the plan
will work, and hopes that other Calgary business heavyweights will follow suit
with similar innovative programs, saying "My salesmen can lease and sell
office buildings and shopping centres, so we think we can sell symphony
tickets, too. The old form of fundraising -- walking around and looking for
money -- doesn't work anymore." Calgary
Herald 10/26/02

THE NEW WAVE:
"Every half century, history rolls at us another wave of composers who
will change the way music is heard and played. At the beginning of the 20th
century came Debussy and Schoenberg, soon joined by Bartok and Stravinsky. In
the 1950's, those arriving ranged from John Cage to Milton Babbitt. Now it is
time for another great sweep, perhaps going in even more diverse directions
and prompted from farther out on the periphery. The 20th century's revolutions
were led from Europe and then the United States; now may come the turn of
China, Australia and Latin America." Exhibit A may be Argentinian
composer Osvaldo Golijov. The New York Times
10/27/02

IS NEW
MUSIC FINALLY POPULAR? Ever since the modernist and serialist
movements of the mid-20th century, conventional wisdom has held that the
concertgoing public cannot abide new music, and that any effort to program
modern works must be counterbalanced with a healthy dose of 'safe'
classics. But with the rise of accessible (and yet unquestionably serious)
composers like John Corigliano, how can anyone still claim that new music
is unpopular? Philadelphia Inquirer 10/27/02

REASSESSING
WAGNER, AGAIN: Richard Wagner is perhaps the most bitterly debated
composer in all of Western classical music. With historians constantly
reassessing his role in the development of opera and the effect (or lack
thereof) of his own vicious anti-Semitism on his work, the music itself can
easily be lost in the shuffle. With London's Barbican Centre rolling out a new
Ring cycle this fall, concertgoers have a chance to experience the composer
from all sides of the historical debate. The
Observer (UK) 10/27/02

WELCOME
(BACK) TO HONG KONG: "In August of 2000, some 10,000 classical music
fans in Hong Kong paid US$30 each to hear Russia's famous orchestra play a
series of concerts. By most all accounts the evening was a success, with one
local critic lauding the orchestra's 'exciting accelerandos and heart-stopping
rubatos.' The only problem was that the real Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra was
touring France, Spain and Portugal at the time. A group of apparently
cash-strapped musical imposters duped Hong Kong's music aficionados."
This week, the real Moscow Phil makes its triumphant premiere/return to
Taipei. Taipei Times 10/25/02

Friday October 25

ON-AIR WOMEN:
Women artists have always had a tough time getting airplay on American radio
stations. Until very recently, most stations had a rule of not playing
back-to-back songs by women. Now 12 of the Billboard Top 20 songs are by women
artists. But while it's better, critics still claim bias. "It's
indicative of the industry that programmers don't think that men, and
especially boys, are interested in hearing what women have to say unless it's
a sexy song." Christian Science Monitor
10/25/02

JUNKIFICATION
OF THE CLASSICAL CHARTS: Simon Rattle's new recording of Mahler's 5th
Symphony with the Berlin Symphony recently topped the Classical charts. It was
the first time in a decade that a symphony held the No. 1 spot. Why so rare?
Over the years the classical charts have been junked up with music that can
hardly be classified as classical. "Over a dozen years, as sales slumped,
the classical record industry dumped the serious stuff and embraced dubious
surrogates." La Scena Musicale 10/23/02

HOW
TO STAGE AN OPERA IN 36 HOURS: The saga leading up to the Kirov Opera's
appearance in Los Angeles this week has been, well, operatic - cancellation of
the originally scheduled opera, sets that floated away to Asia in a
dockworkers' strike... This week the company itself showed up in LA. "The
full dress rehearsal is scheduled for 7 p.m. and for the half hour leading up
to it, it is difficult to imagine that somewhere within this building there is
a 280-member opera company. The halls are silent, backstage is silent, the
makeup people sit outside the silent wardrobe rooms, waiting, not really
knowing what is going to happen next..." Los
Angeles Times 10/25/02

KIROV
REVIEW: "With the raising of the curtain, it was as though the
black cloud that had hung over the first Kirov Opera L.A. tour finally
seemed to lift. The Kirov company is large and full of life. The chorus is
exceptional. And on Wednesday there was plenty of individuality in the
performances." Los Angeles Times 10/25/02

WHY
DOWNLOADING MAKES GOOD BUSINESS SENSE: Recording artist Janis Ian says
that recording companies are wrong about downloading piracy. "Attacking
your own customers because they want to learn more about your products is a
bizarre business strategy, one the music industry cannot afford to continue.
On the first day I posted downloadable music, my merchandise sales tripled,
and they have stayed that way ever since. I'm not about to become a
zillionaire as a result, but I am making more money. At a time when radio
playlists are tighter and any kind of exposure is hard to come by, 365,000
copies of my work now will be heard. Even if only 3% of those people come to
concerts or buy my CDs, I've gained about 10,000 new fans this year." USAToday 10/24/02

BURN
BABY BURN: Music fans worldwide are downloading music files and
burning their own copies at an increasing pace. Traditional recording
companies looking to stop the practice are getting increasingly
aggressive. To fight illicit copying, the International Federation of the
Phonographic Industry has set up a worldwide anti-piracy network, which
has issued more than 10,000 prosecutions this year." The Age (Melbourne) 10/25/02

HOUSE
BAND: "House concerts are exactly what those two words say - concerts
that people hold in their houses - and they've become something of a
nationwide phenomenon during the past 10 years. While there has always been
live music in homes - classical drawing room salons, rural front-porch
hoedowns, Harlem rent parties, rock bands in basements - the current style of
house party has flourished because of a confluence of circumstances, the
primary one being the graying of the baby boomers..." Washington Post 10/25/02

Thursday October
24

HARD TIMES AT
PRODIGY CENTRAL: You know the music industry has hit hard times when the
president of the Juilliard School is saying things like "I'm just as much
thrilled if someone gets a job teaching junior high school music as if they
get a job in the Chicago Symphony." Joseph Polisi also indicated that,
with the job market in music tighter than ever, it will be essential for young
musicians to find new ways of bringing music to the public if the form is to
survive. Star Tribune (Minneapolis/St. Paul)
10/23/02

A NEW TAKE ON
PIANO CONCERTS: A concert promoter brings his pop model to the classical
piano recital. He's pairing big stars with young "opening acts,"
setting low ticket prices, performing in unusual spaces, and advertising in
non-traditional (for the classical world) ways. The
New York Times 10/24/02

WHAT
HAPPENED TO THE ORCHESTRA BOOM? Only five years ago, many North American
orchestras were convinced that the future was bright. New concert halls
abounded, and ticket sales were up continent-wide. These days, though, it is a
rare orchestra which isn't struggling in the grip of crippling deficits, and
many smaller orchestras are finding themselves on the precipice. Case in
point: the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. Edmonton
Journal 10/24/02

TRYING
SOMETHING NEW: "Taking a small but noticeable step away from the
programming habits of the city's former orchestra, Symphony San Jose Silicon
Valley on Wednesday announced its first four-concert season. Six of the 14
scheduled works are by U.S.-born composers, and there's at least one American
work on every program." The orchestra was recently created by the San
Jose Ballet to fill the void left by the demise of the San Jose Symphony. San Jose Mercury News 10/24/02

COPYRIGHT
HYSTERIA: "People auction everything from stereo equipment to World
Series tickets to used software on eBay. Why, then, did an indie musician who
tried to hawk his own band's CD get fingered by the site as a copyright
violator?" Wired 10/24/02

LEARNING
LATIN: Latin jazz has been around for decades, but it's never had a full
chair at the official jazz table. "Now several long-flowing streams of
interest in Latin jazz are running together, and it seems that the form is
becoming recognized as official culture in America, ready for
heritage-building, specialized analysis and education." The New York Times 10/24/02

SHORTLISTED
FOR TALENT, NOT SALES: The popular music industry long ago sunk into a
mire of marketing gimmickry which has had the effect of shutting the door on
countless talented artists who somehow didn't fit the profile of today's
navel-baring, assembly-line pop stars. The Shortlist Music Prize aims to swing
the balance back towards talent and originality, and that mission is visible
in this year's shortlist, on which the most recognizable name belongs to
Icelandic art-rock purveyor Björk. The Globe
& Mail (AP) 10/24/02

Wednesday October
23

CHICAGO
SYMPHONY DEFICIT: The Chicago Symphony reports a $6.1 million deficit for
last season. The orchestra notes "challenging economic conditions,'' and
says that "even record-breaking contributions to the annual fund could
not close the 'widening imbalance' between operating revenues and
expenses." Chicago Sun-Times 10/23/02

CANADA'S
THRIVING CLASSICAL MUSIC RADIO: While classical music radio has been dying
out in the United States in the past decade, "in Canada, looking over the
last 20 years, there has been an obvious growth in the appetite for classical
programming, as well as jazz, on FM radio." La
Scena Musicale 10/22/02

Tuesday October 22

CHICAGO
LOSSES: The Chicago Symphony will announce a season deficit of at least $4
million this evening. "This is uncharacteristically bad news for an
orchestra that has been happily in the black for 14 of the past 17 seasons. It
also marks the CSO's second consecutive annual deficit, following a $1.3
million dip into red ink on last year's budget of $59 million." Chicago
Lyric Opera is also facing a downturn. To cut costs, both have dropped
long-running radio broadcasts. Chicago Sun-Times
10/22/02

SINGLE-MINDED:
The single record is dead of course. And yet, there have been heavy sales of a
few recordings released as singles in the past year. Some believe the format
should be revived. "We have been in a song-driven marketplace for a
number of years, and yet the availability of singles continues to decline.
When there is no way for the consumer to purchase just the one song they want,
why are we all surprised that they take advantage of the widely available
alternative - which is a free copy from one of the various file-sharing
services?" Baltimore Sun 10/22/02

IN PRAISE OF
M&M: "The worst thing about the record industry’s current
infatuation with gorgeous violinists who don’t actually play the violin very
well is that it steals the limelight from gorgeous violinists who do. Two of
the best Midori and Viktoria Mullova - deserve attention right now." The Times (UK) 10/22/02

COMMITMENT
TO NEW MUSIC, WYOMING STYLE: The Cheyenne [Wyoming] Symphony is a long way
from a major city. But the orchestra decided to present a program of music by
composer John Corigliano. The orchestra invited Corigliano to town for three
days, found underwriting and sponsorships, and sold out the city's 1,500-seat
civic center. "The concert was greeted with cheers, whistles and cascades
of applause. Quite simply, it was a success in every way." Denver Post 10/22/02

Monday October 21

NJ
SYMPHONY RUNS DEFICIT: The New Jersey Symphony ran up a deficit of $1.1
million last season. Alarmingly, the figure is about 7 percent of the
orchestra's total budget. "The economy has basically moved orchestras
from experiencing small surpluses to experiencing small deficits. I anticipate
it's a short-term phenomenon." Newark
Star-Ledger 10/18/02

OPERA
IN L.A. - MISSED OPPORTUNITIES? A few years ago opera was a hot ticket in
Los Angeles, particularly among the under-30 crowd. Now? "Did opera turn
out to be another pop-cult fad, or did the L.A. company blow the opportunity
to capture this most sought-after demographic?" Los Angeles Times 10/17/02

CALGARY
PHIL DEMANDS LEADER'S HEAD: The Calgary Philharmonic, which suspended
operations last week after a financial crisis, has asked for the resignation
of its president. The orchestra's future is in doubt. "The CPO's recent
aggressive marketing campaign to secure 2,000 new subscriber households by the
end of October has only managed to gain about 800 new patrons." Calgary Herald 10/19/02

JUST
SHUT IT DOWN: "The fact is that big orchestras are done for.
Gonzo. They're an anachronism, an all-but-dead corpse kept on life support
by tax dollars and an ever dwindling group of philanthropists and ticket
buyers." Just shut them down. Calgary
Herald 10/18/02

KNOWING
WHEN TO QUIT: "Performing is a physical activity, and time takes its
toll on the human body: on breath support, on lips, on strength, on
coordination, on sight and hearing. Like athletes, singers and
instrumentalists eventually have to come to terms with the fact that they
can't do certain things as well at 60 or 70 as they did at 20 or 30. It's easy
to stay too long, and those who do risk undermining their legacies." St. Louis Post-Dispatch 10/20/02

KEITH
JARRETT'S NEW STYLE: Pianist Keith Jarrett became ill six years ago, and
during the long rehabilitation when he didn't play, Jarrett re-evaluated his
art. "I didn’t like a lot of my long introductions, and there were lots
of things I wasn’t happy with about my touch. My illness gave me an
opportunity that very few musicians have, to re-evaluate everything. I wanted
to reconnect to the idea of sounding like a horn — a trumpet or
saxophone." The Times (UK) 10/21/02

Sunday October 20

CHANGE
AT THE TOP: Many of the world's top orchestras are introducing new music
directors. "All this giddy change is partly coincidence; music directors
come, and they go. But a new century also generates a new zeitgeist, and that
surely motivates managements, some of which have gently or not-so-gently eased
out aging, long-standing conductors. And these are turbulent times for
classical music institutions." The question is - what does all this
change mean? Los Angeles Times 10/20/02

OLD AND
NEW - TOGETHER AGAIN: Wolfgang Sawallisch is conducting his last season as
music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Christoph Eschenbach takes on
the job next year. This week though, they both appeared on the same stage in
performance. "The program had the aura of history, with music director
Sawallisch escorting Eschenbach, here as piano soloist, out on stage. You
could see [Eschenbach], between piano passages, surveying his future players,
taking inventory." Philadelphia Inquirer
10/20/02

UNCOMMON
CHANCES: The group Ethel is a string quartet. They play contemporary
music. Often in places you don't usually find string quartets. But don't call
Ethel a string quartet. It's a band. "What image does a string quartet
put in your head? A dour group of people playing perfectly together in perfect
harmony. That's not the path that I wanted to go down." The New York Times 10/20/02

RUNNING ON
ABOUT RENEE: Renee Fleming is the diva of the moment. She's a breakout
artist who's fame surpasses the concert hall. "One measure of her special
hold on the American public is the constant stream of feature articles that
have brought her personal history into the household of anyone who watches
television or subscribes to magazines. Her girl-next-door upbringing. Her
initial uncertainties in finding her direction as a classical musician. Her
seemingly picture-perfect marriage.. The New York
Times 10/20/02

CLASSIC
CONFLICTS: More musicians are also showing up as critics in Philadelphia's
music scene. Is this healthy? "It's the classic journalism-school
question. How do you stay neutral as a reporter when the best way to cover a
certain community is to be part of it? You can't easily reconcile these
things." Philadelphia Inquirer 10/20/02

Friday October 18

ROCKED
THE VOTE: "The music industry's engagement with politics has always
ebbed and flowed. In the 1960s, when rock was part of a counter-culture,
protest songs were both credible and glamorous. In the punk era, the Top 10
included a string of polemical singles by the Jam, the Clash and the Specials.
Since then, thrilling music and political engagement have rarely
coincided." The Guardian (UK) 10/18/02

JANSONS GETS
CONCERTGEBOUW: The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam has named
Mariss Jansons as its new chief conductor beginning with the 2004–2005
season. The only other serious contender for the post was Christian Thielemann.
Andante 10/17/02

BAZ'S
BOHEME: Baz Luhrmann took two years and 3000 auditions to cast his La
Boheme. It's currently playing previews in San Francisco before moving to
Broadway. Visually, it's unconventional - teeming with "energy and
characteristic Luhrmann colour. Luhrmann says his goal was to reinvent opera
for a new generation; to bring it from its lofty level to mass audiences, in
the way Puccini's art was enjoyed. The opera is sung in Italian, but with
English surtitles that include such Batman-era translations as Kapow!,
Thwack!and @#!&% for a mock fight scene." The
Age (Melbourne) 10/18/02

Thursday October
17

BAD
DAY (CAREER?): Composer John Corigliano has had a successful career in
music. But he's discouraged about his profression. "I'm so discouraged I
just don't even feel like writing in classical music or concert music, because
I truly feel that we're in a terrible state. The (classical) record industry
has collapsed. No one's interested. No one cares. Can you imagine anybody
having a riot like The Rite of Spring now over any piece of art or
music? Do you think they care? No one does." Denver
Post 10/17/02

LA
OPERA'S EMERGENCY SETS: When the ship carrying sets and costumes for Los
Angeles Opera's production of Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk was unable to
unload its cargo during the recent dock strike, the ship turned around and
headed for Tokyo, triggering a "dramatic turn of events. Los Angeles
Opera officials learned there was no way to get the sets back to California in
time for opening night and decided to build the sets themselves - using a
30-pound roll of blueprints flown from Russia." Nando Times (AP) 10/16/02

CAN
THE ENGLISH NATIONAL OPERA SURVIVE? "The case for keeping an English
national opera has been weakened by a decade of weak administration and
mounting debt. The deficit, I'm reliably informed, has topped £3 million.
There is no cash in the kitty for new productions and the box-office is slow.
These are bleak days at the Coliseum. Even the neon roof-sign is perpetually
on the blink. So why keep ENO going? Because it's the only place this side of
Paris where you can see professional opera for a fair price." La Scena Musicale 10/16/02

EARLY
WORD ON BAZ'S BOHEME: One of the most-awaited productions on Broadway this
season is Baz Lurhmann's interpretation of La Boheme. How will the
director work his offbeat magic on one of the most familiar operas in the
repertory? Lurhmann's Boheme has just opened in San Francisco for an
out-of-town tryout. "What theatergoers get here, from celebrated
Australian film and stage director Baz Luhrmann, is an intimately scaled,
emotionally attentive, visually choice and musically lucid staging of a great
opera about riotous love and bohemian bonhomie." San Francisco Chronicle 10/17/02

EXPERIMENTS
IN OPERA: Steve Reich's new "video opera" opens at the
Brooklyn Academy of Music this week. "Fat ladies won't ever sing in
this one. A chamber ensemble sits below a screen on which video images
unfold depicting three seminal events in 20th-century history." The
question is: "Can it create an entrancing alternate universe that
operagoers can enter and enjoy?" Philadelphia
Inquirer 10/17/02

Wednesday October
16

ANOTHER
ORCHESTRA GOES OUT OF BUSINESS: The troubled Calgary Philharmonic has
suspended operations and filed a brief with a bankruptcy court, cancelling all
concerts for at least the next 45 days and laying off 65 musicians and as many
as 20 staff. Calgary's arts scene, never exactly a bustling one, is expected
to suffer fallout from the CPO's slow and very public collapse over the last
year or two, and many in the CPO organization seem surprised and disgusted
that the city's wealthy residents didn't seem to do a lot to help when the
chips were down. Calgary Herald 10/16/02

MUSICAL
BIAS: The Missouri Supreme Court is considering whether to overturn the
death sentence of a man who claims his jury was unfairly influenced when the
prosecution played a violent rap song by Bone Thugs 'N Harmony during
summation. At issue is not only the relevance of the music to the murders the
defendant was charged with, but the very real possibility that prosecutors
intended to play to jurors' racist tendencies. "If killing two people
isn't quite enough, do you think just maybe the sound of disgusting rap music
might play to any unknown racial bias lurking within one or two jurors? If Mo'
Murdah helps get a man the death penalty, would a nice white lady singing God
Bless America have spared him?" St. Louis
Post-Dispatch 10/16/02

Tuesday October 15

CHINA PHIL EXEC
ARRESTED FOR CORRUPTION: Just hours before his orchestra was to open the
Beijing Music festival, the deputy executive director of the China
Philharmonic Orchestra was detained by police at his Beijing home on charges
of corruption. "Evidence against Zhao included 10 million yuan (US$1.2
million) in cash found at his residence and six deluxe vehicles registered
under his and his wife's names, the total cost of which exceeded the couple's
present salaries by a large margin." Andante
10/14/02

LEARNING ON
THE JOB? Twenty-four-year-old Katharina Wagner, granddaughter of composer
Richard Wagner, has been named by her father to succeed him running the
Bayreuth festival. But in her first outing as an opera director, she's created
a controversial production. "Storms of boos, alternating with bravos,
buffeted the production team at the premiere. 'The reactions were very
violent,' Ms. Wagner said. 'One woman said to me, `I know how Richard Wagner
meant it.' That would be a real sensation if she really did'." The New York Times 10/15/02

YOUNG
AT HEART: Two weeks ago Simone Young was fired as general director of
Opera Australia. But not right away; she'll stay on running the company until
her contract is up next year. Isn't it awkward working for the people who just
fired you? Sure. But in the meantime there are operas to be produced,
audiences to be made happy... The Age (Melbourne)
10/15/02

Monday October 14

BRITAIN'S FAVORITE
OPERA: It's Mozart's Marriage of Figaro, as voted in a Classic FM poll.
"Wagner — whose work was almost exclusively operatic — is the most
notable absentee, with no entries in the list which features just four
composers." Andante (PA) 11/012/02

COSTLY
ADVENTURE: Franz Xaver Ohnesorg's abrupt resignation as manager of the
Berlin Philharmonic ended a costly adventure. Ohnesorg's big salary must still
be paid through 2006, and he exposed the orchestra to a lawsuit it is likely
to lose. "This is a waste of money Berlin style, and it is the clear
result of a cultural policy that has its eyes more on names and insider
relationships than on concepts or programs." Frankfurter
Allgemeine Zeitung 10/11/02

SERIOUSLY OPERATIC
POLITICS: The brief yet fierce succession crisis which enveloped
Florence's famed opera house Teatro del Maggio Musicale (formally Teatro
Communale) this past month was worthy of an opera itself. The
behind-the-scenes battle had all the elements of a classic operatic story:
melodramatic plot twists, massive egos, a dangerous emperor (Italian P.M.
Silvio Berlusconi - who says right-wingers don't care about the arts?), a
loyal but ultimately betrayed servant of the benevolent and aged head of the
household, and the eventual gathering together of the working class people of
the community to force a happy ending. But don't expect these performers to be
joining hands and taking a bow anytime soon. Andante
10/14/02

SAVE
OUR SHEET MUSIC: "Unimpressed with the San Jose Symphony's efforts to
save its music library, the musicians have taken fundraising into their own
hands. The musicians have raised more than $20,000 to preserve the sheet
music, which is valued at about $125,000. The library consists of more than
1,000 marked-on scores that could be lost when the symphony declares
bankruptcy in coming weeks." The SJS ceased operations earlier this year,
but a new orchestra being started by the city's ballet troupe might be able to
make use of such an extensive library. San Jose
Mercury News 10/14/02

GETTING
PROACTIVE WITH THE KIDS: Ask a musician about the problem of aging and
dwindling audiences for classical music, and you'll likely get an answer along
the lines of "There's really nothing we can do. They just don't teach
music in the schools the way they used to." The Cleveland Chamber Music
Society agrees with the latter statement, and is determined to do something
about it. The CCMS is sponsoring a new program to bring live music performed
by top artists into Cleveland's schools, and creating an endowment to ensure
that music education will not wither on the vine.The Plain Dealer 10/14/02

MUSICAL
GAMES: Composer Sam Hayden has written an interactive piece of music for
the internet that combines composition with video games. "3D Music
extends to the Internet several important concepts in contemporary
composition. For instance, it experiments with spatialized sounds, so that a
listener hears different music in different locations. Surrendering control of
the work's structure to individual online visitors challenges the notion of a
classical composition as a fixed entity. Letting audience members determine
'how a piece of music sounds — to a large degree, not to a cosmetic degree
— is clearly something very new and radical'." The New York Times 10/14/02

PLAYING
ALONG: When talking movies first hit theatre screens, 55,000 musicians in
the US who had accompanied the silents were thrown out of work within six
months. "But some musicians still make a healthy living playing along to
old movies at festivals around the world." BBC
10/14/02

COVENT
GARDEN'S NEW MAN: Anthony Pappano is Covent Garden's new music director.
It's a big and controversial position, the kind of job you have to grow into.
But Pappano has confidence. "I think the house feels a new energy because
I am always here and going to rehearsals and sort of going at 100 miles per
hour all the time. And this opera house has needed that kind of
investment." The New York Times 10/14/02

THE TRUTH ABOUT
MARIA: A doctor who treated Maria Callas for dermatomyositis, a
degenerative tissue disease, is speaking out about the famed soprano's illness
more than 25 years after her death because, he says, he has been incensed by
ongoing portrayals of Callas as a disturbed prima donna who retired from the
stage as a result of mental instabilities. The doctor further asserts that the
diva's death in 1977 came not as a result of heartbreak (her husband abandoned
her to marry Jacqueline Kennedy) but from a heart attack brought on by her
disease. Andante (AP) 10/14/02

Sunday October 13

BEVERLY'S
BACK: Was it really only six months ago that Beverly Sills resigned her
post at the head of New York's Lincoln Center, following a contentious debate
over the complex's impending expansion and renovation? At the time, Sills said
that she was retiring, and wanted to "smell the flowers a little
bit." But apparently the quiet life wasn't all it was cracked up to be
for Sills, 73, who has just accepted the chairmanship of the Metropolitan
Opera. The Met is, of course, Lincoln Center's most powerful tenant, putting
Sills smack in the middle of the same debates she so recently bowed out of. The New York Times 10/12/02

FREE CDs
FOR IMMUNITY: "In New York last week the Big Five record companies
struck a deal with the attorneys-general of 40 US states who were suing them
for price-fixing. The Five agreed to give five and a half million free CDs to
schools and public libraries after being accused of setting mimimum CD prices
at three major retailers... Anomalies like these have provoked parliamentary
inquiries in Washington, London and Brussels, but never a full prosecution.
Governments do not mess with the music biz. It is too big, too generous at
election time and too influential on young minds for politicians to risk a
coalition of gangsta rappers, country crooners and opera divas converging on
their doorstep in cacophonous protest. The biz has always got away with it in
the lobby. Now, the US prosecutors have backed off again in exchange for a
stack of free discs."La Scena Musicale
10/10/02

GREED
KILLED THE RADIO STAR: With the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Chicago
Lyric Opera both killing off their local and national radio broadcasts, the
Second City's classical music community is in danger of losing cultural cache
and national recognition. Critic John van Rhein, who this weekend celebrates
25 years of observing the Chicago music scene, is disgusted by the lack of
vision from all sides. "The classical music world is reaping the bitter
fruits of American orchestras having priced themselves out of the broadcast
and recordings market. The free-spending '90s are dead -- musicians in other
cities have swallowed hard and accepted it. Chicago has yet to do so." Chicago Tribune 10/13/02

NOTHING
HAPPENS BY ACCIDENT: To hear many people tell it, you would think that the
recent resurgence of opera as a popular art form has happened purely by
chance, and that the increasingly young age of opera patrons is due to nothing
more than youngsters wandering into the opera house by accident. Not so: in
fact, opera companies across North America have been making a concerted effort
to draw in a more diverse crowd. The Canadian Opera Company is a prime
example, with an 'Opera 101' education program, as well as a continuing series
of classic operas directed by famous names like Atom Egoyan. Toronto Star 10/12/02

KNOWING
WHAT'S IMPORTANT: As deficits mount and cost-cutting measures spring up at
orchestras across North America, one of the hardest expenses to justify is the
international tour. Short-sighted board members often question whether touring
is an investment with no return, and the orchestra's regular patrons hardly
notice whether their band tours or not. Besides that, touring is horribly
expensive. Yet some orchestras seem to retain an unshakable commitment to it,
and one example you might not expect is Baltimore. In the wake of 9/11, as
other orchestras were cancelling international travel in a panic, Baltimore
went to Europe without hesitation. Now, the BSO has just wrapped up a
sucessful Japan tour, and continues to make inroads on the international
scene.Baltimore Sun 10/13/02

FORGOT
ABOUT THE BOTTOM LINE: No word yet on the acoustic success of the newly
renovated Orchestra Hall in Detroit (only a pops concert has been played at
the refurbished hall so far) but patrons already have found one serious flaw.
It seems the hall refurbished the audience chairs in order to bring them up to
fire codes, and installed new cushions as well as the legally mandated 'weight
bars' on the back edge of each seat. The problem is, the cushions don't cover
the bars, and many patrons came away from the performance with sore hind
quarters as a result. The orchestra says that fewer than half the seats are
affected, and they are offering extra cushions to any patron that wants one. Detroit News 10/12/02

FILLING
DUTOIT'S SHOES: The Montreal Symphony Orchestra is one of the world's
finest ensembles, with or without departed music director Charles Dutoit. But
when an orchestra loses a leader of Dutoit's stature, regardless of how the
musicians may have felt about him, no one can deny the importance of choosing
a successor carefully. This is not to say that the next Montreal stickman
needs to have Dutoit's international reputation or global experience, only
that the conductor chosen must be someone willing and able to grow with
the orchestra, to lead them into a new era without relinquishing a grip on the
last 25 years of unquestionable success. Toronto
Star 10/12/02

MUSIC
AMID THE MUDDLE: This week, Shanghai launched an incredibly ambitious
international music festival, and predicted that the huge gathering would
'make history.' The reality, says one critic, was that the city and the
festival organizers were completely unprepared to put on a show of such
magnitude. "The level of incompetence is hard to understand in a city
that resembles a bizarre cross between the sci-fi optimism of Dan Dare and the
dystopian nightmare of Blade Runner... How many Chinese men does it take to
change a light bulb? Eight. This is not a joke. I happen to know the answer
because I watched it happen. China is a country whose full employment policy
creates ludicrous levels of over-staffing and a pass-the-buck culture." The Telegraph (UK) 10/12/02

FAME
CAN BE FLEETING: "Hey! You've won the prestigious Van Cliburn piano
competition! What are you going to do now? Answer: Go to Bakersfield;
Allendale, Michigan; Hot Springs Village, Arkansas... Life isn't concertos at
Carnegie Hall for Van Cliburn winners. After getting showered with attention
and fame, finalists begin a two-year grind of recitals and mostly low-key
orchestra dates. Even with all the hype, winning the Van Cliburn doesn't
guarantee stardom." San Jose Mercury News
10/12/02

Friday October 11

SHORT-TERM
RELIEF IN PITTSBURGH: The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, which is running
a 7-figure deficit and threatening bankruptcy if the community doesn't step up
its support, finally has a bit of good news to report. "Acusis, a
technology and delivery service company with offices in Pittsburgh, has
pledged $225,000 over a three-year period to the PSO." Officials say they
are grateful for the donation, but stress that they still require a greater
ongoing commitment from Pittsburgh's wealthy classes. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette 10/11/02

L.A.
OPERA'S PRODUCTION WOES: Los Angeles Opera is having a tough time getting
its October opera together. First it canceled a $3-million Kirov production of
War and Peace because of money problems. Now its replacement - another
Kirov offering, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk - is in trouble. Because of the
lockout of West Coast ports, the sets, costumes and props for the production
couldn't wait in LA's harbour, and now they've departed "on a slow boat
to Tokyo." Los Angeles Times 10/10/02

SEATTLE
OPERA HOUSE BAILOUT: In 1999, Seattle voters approved a levy providing
nearly $30 million of city money towards the $128 million renovation of the
Seattle Center Opera House, and were guaranteed that the city would not be
responsible for any cost overruns or additional funding needs. But with the
project nearly stalled over a gap between anticipated and received funding
from King County and the state of Washington, Seattle's mayor is proposing an
additional $27.8 million "loan" to the Opera House. That's money the
city is unlikely to get back. Seattle Times
10/10/02

YEAH, AND NAPSTER
CAUSED THE RECESSION, TOO: The global slump in CD sales is getting worse,
with the latest figures showing a 9% drop in sales in the first half of 2002,
following a 5% drop last year. It's all the fault of internet piracy,
according to the industry, with free song-swapping sites "the greatest
threat facing the music industry today," but the industry still hasn't
come up with anything approaching a user-friendly legal alternative to free
sites like Kazaa and Gnutella. BBC 10/11/02

UNDERSTANDING
PYOTR: Tchaikovsky's music is much loved, but his work is widely regarded
as sentimental and lightweight. Is it a bum rap? "The industry of
speculation around Tchaikovsky has had an ambivalent effect on his artistic
reputation. Tchaikovsky's cachet is good for shifting CDs and concert tickets,
but it leaves us with the impression that listening to Tchaikovsky is a
pleasurable vice to be indulged rather than the kind of worthy artistic
undertaking we associate with Mozart or Shakespeare." The Guardian (UK) 10/11/02

ONE
WAY TO PUT BUTTS IN THE SEATS: The Toronto Symphony Orchestra is taking a
novel approach to filling the empty seats at Roy Thompson Hall. The TSO has
teamed up with HurryDate, a local dating service, to provide prospective
couples with a pair of free tickets to a concert, in the hope that some of
them will return as paying customers. The gamble is just the most high-profile
in a series of audience-building maneuvers by the TSO: others include a "Soundcheck"
program designed to draw in young people, and a cocnerted effort to interest
the city's immigrant communities in classical music. Toronto Star 10/09/02

AUSTIN
OPERA FIRES DIRECTOR: Last week Austin Lyric Opera fired its general
director Joseph McClain. "Budget deficits and advocacy of new operas had
created friction between McClain and factions on the board for at least two
years. The dismissal was predicated on recent projections that the company
would face more deficits for the next three years." Austin American-Statesman 10/10/02

NATURALLY, IT
WAS A COLLEGE STUDENT: The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra says it has
solved the mystery of how pornographic phrases got into an internet database,
and by extension, onto the computers of their subscribers when they attempted
to listen to a promotional CD sent out free of charge by the NZSO. A college
student playing the CD in his girlfriend's computer was prompted by the
database to enter titles for the tracks, and he did so, believing his
graphically descriptive phrases were only being saved to one computer. Upon
hearing what he had inadvertently done, the student turned himself in to
police. No charges will be filed. Wired 10/11/02

Thursday October
10

DON'T
PUNISH OPERA COMPANY OUSTED DIRECTOR SAYS: Simone Young, who was told a
few weeks ago her contract as director of Opera Australia was not being
renewed, returned to Sydney Monday night, and got a standing ovation from the
audience when she walked into the hall. She urged opera supporters not to
cancel their subscriptions in protest of her firing. "If people want to
support me, then the best thing they can do is make sure my performances are
full, that all our performances are full." The
Age (Melbourne) 10/10/02

WAGNER TO
TAKE OVER WEIMAR: Nike Wagner, granddaughter of Richard Wagner, has been
chosen as director of the Weimar Music Festival for at least three seasons.
"Ms Wagner, a former culture minister in the Hamburg regional government,
was also considered in 1999 to take over the Bayreuth festival, which
showcases her great-grandfather's works." BBC
10/09/02

GOOD
AS NEW: The Detroit Symphony Orchestra returns to its home hall this week
following a $60 million renovation project which promises to make the venue a
viable home for many years to come. Unlike other recent renovations to concert
halls, this upgrade was mainly cosmetic, rather than acoustical, although part
of the budget went to the building of a new 4-story annex with a 550-seat
theater and musicians' lounge. In a bittersweet concession to the way American
orchestras are run these days, the first performance at the rejuvenated hall
will be a 'pops' concert this weekend. Detroit
News 10/10/02

WHAT,
US, WORRY? "In a difficult financial environment for symphony
orchestras, the Florida Orchestra has bucked a trend. In the fiscal year that
closed at the end of June, the orchestra reported a surplus of $480,000 in a
cash budget of $7.8-million at its annual meeting Tuesday. The Florida
Orchestra didn't have the weakened ticket sales that many other orchestras did
after the terrorist attacks of last Sept. 11," and a pre-9/11 round of
budget cutting may have helped the orchestra stay above the red line. St. Petersburg Times 10/09/02

OH, GOD, NO:
"A Russian opera company is planning a comic opera that will tell the
infamous story of Monica Lewinsky and the president. The Russian president, to
be precise. The composer of Monica in the Kremlin is Vitali Okorokov, a
classically trained musician who is well known to the Russian public for his
pop hits. After a performance of one of his symphonic poems, Okorokoc was
approached by the artistic director of the Saratov Opera, who asked him to
write an opera on a contemporary subject." Andante
10/10/02

Wednesday October
9

AMERICAN MUSIC
ONLINE: One of the biggest frustrations for composers is getting their
music out to be heard. The American Music Center proposes some help - a new
website that will make available access to the work of American composers.
"New Music Jukebox offers a 24-hour 'virtual' listening room with
streaming and downloadable sound files, as well as extensive composer
biographies, works lists, publishers, performance data and other information,
all cross-referenced." The New York Times
10/09/02

AND
OFFLINE... It had to start happening, given the grinding economics. Citing
costs, lack of revenues, and uncertainty over royalty rates for music streamed
over the internet, Chicago classical music station WFMT has decided to drop
its internet streaming. Chicago Sun-Times 10/08/02

OPERA
WARS: British arts policy tries to promote opera in parts of the country
where there isn't much. So regional companies get big subsidies. But bad
facilities and lame programming choices undercut efforts. And knockoff foreign
touring companies are an even bigger threat. "Audiences, depressingly,
seem content to hear foreigners singing familiar tunes loudly, with scenery
and costumes left over from the silent-film era." The Telegraph (UK) 10/09/02

OHNESORG JUMPS FROM
ANOTHER JOB: Franz Xaver Ohnesorg's early departure as manager of the
Berlin Philharmonic is officially for "personal reasons." But
"it was common knowledge that Ohnesorg, who left his previous post as
executive director of Carnegie Hall suddenly and prematurely following two
turbulent years, had provoked the ire of many in the course of his year in
Berlin." Andante 10/09/02

Tuesday October 8

X-RATED
CLASSICAL: The New Zealand Symphony sent out 8000 promotional CDs to
market its new season. But when recipients of the discs put them into
computers to play, they discovered that someone had substituted the track
titles with pornographic descriptions of sex acts. "It seemed the person
responsible used an Internet media player to read the CD, made the changes and
saved them on the database. This meant that whenever anyone else used a media
player connected to that database, the X-rated version was displayed." The Age (Melbourne) 10/08/02

FIGHTING OVER
BEETHOVEN'S PIANO: Two Austrian museums are fighting over a piano that
once belonged to Beethoven. The piano - built in 1803, and owned by the
composer until 1824 - has "for the past 15 years been in the exhibition
of musical instruments at the Palace Museum of the City of Linz. But for most
of that time, the Vienna Museum of Art History has been trying to get it
back." Andante (DPA) 10/08/02

WHICH
BEST IS BEST? The Donatella Flick Conducting Competition in London exists
to spot new talented conductors and help them along. But by what criteria do
you declare a winner? From a listener's perspective, the wrong guy won... The Independent (UK) 10/07/02

ORANGE
COUNTY DELAYS CONCERT HALL: The Orange County Performing Arts Center is
pushing back the opening of its new $200 million concert hall by a year. But
it's not because fundraising has dried up, says the center's management.
"About $100 million has been raised or pledged since the campaign began
nearly three years ago. But, amid a plummeting stock market and other economic
woes, only $3.5 million in new donations has been announced in the last 12
months." No, the reason is acoustical: "Because of its complex
acoustical engineering, they said, the 2,000-seat hall requires a break-in
time of three to six months to 'tune' it for peak sonic performance, and
pushing to keep to the original schedule would have risked getting off to a
bad start. 'A lot of cities have looked at the Philadelphia experience and are
making sure they have plenty of time for the tuning period'." Los Angeles Times 10/08/02

Monday October 7

TOUGH
SELL IN SOUTH FLORIDA: For 30 years orchestras have struggled in Miami
trying to carve out an existence. And still, even with an ambitious new
performing arts center rising, it's a tough sell. "The Miami Philharmonic
did some interesting things and remarkable playing in its time. But South
Florida wasn't ready to support an orchestra then - and I'm sorry to say I'm
still not sure it's ready to do it today. Besides that, the economy isn't very
good right now.'' Miami Herald 10/06/02

WILL
MONTREAL FANS STICK AROUND? Charles Dutoit's explosive departure last
season from the Montreal Symphony resulted in the high-profile cancellations
of star soloists Mstislav Rostropovich and Yo-Yo Ma on this season's schedule.
The orchestra is watching anxiously to see if its fans will continue coming to
concerts after the departure of the highly regarded conductor. After a good
first week, the orchestra's second week of concerts saw largely empty
houses... Montreal Gazette 10/7/02

ACTIVE
ANALYSIS: "To understand the significance of music for the musicians
who created it and the society in which it was produced is a challenge to
music-lovers. Perhaps no writer on music devoted more energy to this task than
Theodor Wiesengrund Adorno, and the translations into English of his writings
on philosophy and music and their diffusion have been multiplying in recent
years while, at the same time, his ideas have become widely influential in the
US and Europe." New York Review of Books
10/24/02

Sunday October 6

LATIN
CAN'T FIND THE BEAT: This year's Latin Grammys broadcast was a bomb in the
ratings. Does this mean the end? "It would be a shame if this year's poor
ratings meant the end of the Latin Grammys. The awards have made a strong
contribution to Latin music, acknowledging excellent artists we may never have
heard of otherwise. Finally, Latin music was starting to get its due. But at
this point in the Latin Grammys' brief history, it's time to either give up or
get smart." Los Angeles Times 10/06/02

HOUSTON SYMPHONY WANTS
TO REDUCE PAY: Musicians of the Houston Symphony say they are being
offered a dramatic pay cut that would reduce their base salary to $63,000 from
$74,100. Reports have been circulating in the music community about proposed
drastic cutbacks in pay that could lead to a strike. According to an
administrator at one Houston arts organization, the offer includes several
weeks of unpaid vacation and reduction of health benefits for
dependents." The orchestra recorded a $1.6 million deficit last season. Houston Chronicle 10/04/02

NEW SAN JOSE
ORCHESTRA: With the defunct San Jose Symphony not likely to be revived any
time soon, the the Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley has announced it's staring
its own orchestra and planning a season. The new orchestra will perform 7
concerts and expand the ballet's orchestra of 45 players to 70 to 75. Many of
those musicians also played in the San Jose Symphony. San Jose Mercury News 10/05/02

A HARD LOOK AT
ORPHEUS AS IT TURNS 30: The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra is 30 years old, and
the musicianship of the conductorless band is often nothing short of
breathtaking. But big challenges loom, and some of the orchestra's claims are
overblown. "Can Orpheus survive the turnover of personnel in the
orchestra? Thirty years is an eternity for a string quartet but not that long
for a symphony orchestra. We're somewhere in between." The New
York Times 10/06/02

A NEW
MODEL FOR RECORD DEALS: It does seem that EMI's £80 million deal with
Robbie Williams is just one more sign of recording company excess. But the
deal may not be as outsized as it first appears. And it could change the way
recording companies make deals with artists. "EMI will not only release
Williams's next six CDs, it also gets a cut of his lucrative merchandising,
publishing, and touring rights. In effect, it becomes a multi-interest
entertainment business rather than a mere record label. The result could be
more control for artists, for long a sore point with stars of Williams's
stature, and greater financial security for labels." The Guardian (UK) 10/05/02

BAD
NEWS FOR CLASSICAL? Classical music lovers despair at the Williams
deal. Experience shows that big spending on pop artists means less for
classical releases. "EMI insists this is "nonsense", and
cites a balanced catalogue ranging from Simon Rattle, Daniel Barenboim,
and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, to Nigel Kennedy and Vanessa Mae." Still,
ten years ago EMI released 100 classical recordings; last year there were
43. The Guardian (UK) 10/05/02

Friday October 4

CLEVELAND
ORCH CUTS CHAMBER SERIES: Back when the epidemic of orchestra deficits
began sweeping North America, many observers assumed that the crisis would be
tough on the small and medium-sized orchestras, but would barely cause a
ripple among the biggest and richest ensembles. It didn't work out that way,
and now, nearly every major American and Canadian orchestra is slashing and
burning through the budget, looking for cost-saving measures. The latest
victim is the Cleveland Orchestra's chamber music series, which will be
suspended as part of a cost-cutting package which also includes a staff wage
freeze and pay cuts for the new music director and executive director.The Plain Dealer
(Cleveland) 10/04/02

ZUKERMAN
TO GET FIRST STERN AWARD: At the National Arts Awards in New York later
this month, conductor and violinist Pinchas Zukerman will be the recipient of
the first-ever Isaac Stern Award for Excellence in Classical Music. Zukerman,
who has stirred up controversy in Canada in recent years with his comments
about Canadian composers and "authentic" period performance, was one
of Stern's most beloved proteges, and often performed with him in Stern's
later years.Ottawa
Citizen 10/04/02

ANOTHER
THING WRONG WITH THE RECORDING INDUSTRY: After losing millions and having
to buy out Mariah Carey from her recording contract, EMI has signed a deal
with Robbie Williams worth by some estimates - £80 million. That's the most
lucrative contract ever for a British artist. Does EMI stand a chance of ever
making its money back on the deal? Not likely... The
Telegraph (UK) 10/04/02

THE
CHECK'S IN THE MAIL (NOT): When the Washington Chamber Symphony ceased
operations earlier this year, many of the folks in charge seemed to vanish
into the ether. Months later, subscribers want to know where their ticket
refunds are, and the WCS's creditors are wondering when they'll be paid as
well. Meantime, the people who seem to have run the orchestra into the ground
may be too busy pointing fingers at each other to figure out just how the
defunct organization can pay off its debts. Washington
Post 10/04/02

CRUNCH
TIME IN CALGARY: The musicians of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra have
offered to take a 12.3% pay cut to keep the orchestra solvent for the rest of
the season. It would be the second time in two years that the musicians have
taken a large pay cut, but even that may not be enough to save the CPO.
Massive deficits and a lack of enowment funds have the orchestra on the verge
of folding operations. CFCN-TV (Calgary) 10/02/02

20
SHORT YEARS WITHOUT GLENN GOULD: "If you're reading this at 11: 30
a.m., it is precisely 20 years since Glenn Gould left this life... Gould must
be seen as Canada's greatest contribution to classical music, as his work
continues to inspire a seemingly endless stream of books, films, documentaries
and miscellaneous other monuments and remembrances in all corners of the
world. He once said that be didn't believe anybody would come to his funeral.
Three thousand people did, and every day many thousands more continue to pay
homage to the man by listening to his music over and over again."Ottawa Citizen 10/04/02

Thursday October 3

JANSONS NEGOTIATING
WITH CONCERTGEBOUW: Outgoing Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra music director
Mariss Jansons has confirmed that he is in negotiations with Amsterdam's Royal
Concertgebouw Orchestra, considered to be among the top five orchestras in the
world, to become its new chief conductor. Jansons has also signed on to lead
the Bavarian Radio Symphony in Munich, and says that he will limit his
conducting in the near future to those two orchestras, plus those of Berlin,
Vienna, London, and Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette 10/03/02

TANGLEWOOD
WEST? For decades, wealthy Philadelphians have headed north to the
Pocono Mountains in the summer to while away the hot Pennsylvania days at
one of the luxury resorts in the area. So it should come as no surprise to
anyone that one of the state's two major orchestras is building its new
summer home there. The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, most recently in the
news for deficits and (probably) idle threats of bankruptcy, hopes that
its Mountain Laurel Center for the Performing Arts will eventually rival
Tanglewood in Massachusetts and Ravinia in Illinois as one of the nation's
great summer music retreats. Certainly, the location can't hurt: Bushkill,
Pennsylvania is 85 miles from New York City and 115 from Philadelphia. (Of
course, it's 320 miles from Pittsburgh.) Philadelphia
Inquirer (AP) 10/03/02

WHO
NEEDS TASTE IF TASTE DOESN'T MATTER? Those who try to assign the blame for
a decline in classical music are usually looking in the wrong places, writes
Harvard composer Joshua Fineberg. "The lesson that has been taken from
Cage and Duchamp is that if traffic noise and toilet seats are equal to Mozart
and Rembrandt then so are Garth Brooks and black-velvet Elvis paintings. This
view quickly leads to taste being the only legitimate arbiter. In the cultural
realm this rapidly leads to the downward homogenization of taste toward the
least common denominator, a phenomenon that makes almost everyone vaguely
uncomfortable." Salon 10/02/02

(ALMOST)
FREE SAMPLES: In an attempt to lure consumers back to buying music rather
than pirating it, British recording companies have declared Digital Download
Day. The scheme "will today offer consumers £5 worth of free downloads
from one of five official music sites. More than 100,000 tracks will be
available, ranging from Elvis and Coldplay to Kylie and Gareth Gates. For £5,
users will be able to listen to 500 tracks online, download 50 tracks on to
their hard disk or burn five tracks on to a CD." The Guardian (UK) 10/03/02

HELP
WANTED - INSPIRATION: The English National Opera is looking for a new
director. It's a desirable job (if you can overlook the unfortunate demise of
the last incumbent) "True, there's a bit of financial sorting-out to do -
but we are are pretty confident that we can achieve that. And the company will
have a fantastic new home in 2004." So who are the early contenders?
Well, almost anyone you can think of... The
Guardian (UK) 10/03/02

CMF
NAMES NEW DIRECTOR: Catherine Underhill has been named executive director
at the Colorado Music Festival in Boulder. The CMF has consistently been one
of America's top summer music festivals, but has struggled with attendance and
budget issues in recent seasons. "Underhill, 46, has worked as executive
director of the Arts and Humanities Assembly of Boulder (AHAB) and of the
Boulder's Dairy Center for the Arts." The
Daily Camera (Boulder) 10/03/02

ROLLING
RIVER: Saint Paul, Minnesota, is a charming little city constantly
overshadowed by its more cosmopolitan twin, Minneapolis. So when promoters
told city leaders that they wanted to stage a massive arts, film, and music
festival on Saint Paul's increasingly popular riverfront, sponsors and
politicians were lined up to support it. But the Rolling River Festival
crashed and burned before a single act took the stage, and wound up being
basically a smallish film festival showing at various strip-mall-style
suburban theaters. Worse, the festival's organizers are facing accusations
that they built up expectations based on nothing more than talk, and never had
anywhere near the amount of cash which would have been required for such a
large-scale operation. Saint Paul Pioneer Press
10/03/02

BARENBOIM THE
PEACEMAKER: Israeli conductor/pianist Daniel Barenboim, who has made waves
in the Middle East twice in recent months, has co-authored a new book with
Palestinian intellectual Edward Said calling for peace in the region.
"The book, titled Parallels and Paradoxes, grew out of
conversations between the two friends, both prominent cultural figures who
first met a decade ago by chance at a London hotel... Last month, [Barenboim]
and Said were named the winners of Spain's Prince of Asturias Concord Prize
for their efforts toward bringing peace to the Middle East." Andante (AP) 10/03/02

Wednesday October
2

HOW
BIG MUSIC IS RUINING MUSIC: The music industry is broken. As this week's
$143 million price-fixing settlement shows, big music companies have colluded
to artificially inflate the prices of CD's. Artists are attacking, demanding
better contracts and a bigger share of the profits. And instead of fixing
anything, the companies blame the people who consume their products. And we
should feel sympathy because... Chicago Sun-Times
10/02/02

SF
OPERA IN THE RED: Blaming a downturn in the economy and lower attendance
since 9/11, San Francisco Opera announced a $7.7 million deficit for last
season on its annual operating budget of approximately $60 million. It was the
company's biggest financial shortfall in a decade. The company warns that
"in the long term, the economic picture might compel the company to raise
ticket prices and possibly even curtail some of General Girector Pamela
Rosenberg's more ambitious - and costly - artistic plans." San Francisco Chronicle 10/02/02

MUSIC FROM
A CAN: Something about the music you've been listening to this year that
doesn't seem quite real? "More than two-thirds of the No. 1 hits this
year have been by manufactured artists, who have been hand-picked and groomed
for stardom by record company talent-spotters, or in television pop
contests." Maybe that's one reason music sales are down 7 percent this
year... The Scotsman 10/01/02

GRIN
NOT SMILING: It's been almost a year since the San Jose Symphony shut down
operations. Civic leaders are trying to restart the orchestra, and there's
plenty of talk about how to revive the organization. But there's one man
nobody seems to be talking with - Leonard Grin, the orchestra's music
director. "I'm not involved in any of those committees. I never have been
invited to any of those meetings. It's surprising and frustrating. Who better
to help on these committees than the conductor?'' San
Jose Mercury-News 10/02/02

LABELLING
FOR LEGISLATION? Some US Congressmen want the recording industry to
include more information in parental advisory warning labels on CD's. They may
be able to force the issue too. "Rep. John Shimkus, Republican of
Illinois, said the music industry should improve its labeling to prove its
sincerity as it asks Congress for help to fight music swapping over the
Internet that hurts record sales." The Plain
Dealer (AP) (Cleveland) 10/02/02

DEUTSCHE
OPER DIRECTOR TO QUIT: Deutsche Oper director Udo Zimmermann is quitting
the company after his contract expires next July. Zimmermann says he
"found himself unable to continue 'his sophisticated artistic concept in
the Deutsche Oper beyond the 2002-3 season,' in part because of the Berlin's
poor financial condition and the opera's $1.7 million deficit. Washington Post (AP) 10/02/02

Tuesday October 1

CD
SELLERS SETTLE PRICE-FIXING SUIT: Top American music distributors and
retailers have agreed to pay $143 million in cash and CDs to settle charges
they cheated consumers by fixing prices. "The settlement brings to a
close accusations made by attorneys general of 41 states and commonwealths who
accused record companies of conspiring with music distributors to boost the
prices of CDs between 1995 and 2000." Nando
Times (AP) 10/01/02

BIRMINGHAM
WINS: The City of Birmingham Orchestra, stepping neatly out of the long
shadow cast by its ex-music director Simon Rattle, has won Gramophone's
recording of the year, beating - among others - Rattle's new orchestra, the
Berlin Philharmonic. The Guardian (UK) 10/01/02

REFORM
NEEDED FOR MUSIC SCHOOLS: A new report suggests radical reform of
England's music schools. "Backed by leading figures from music and the
arts, including Sir Simon Rattle, it concludes that a new range of decidedly
non-classical skills should be on the curriculum - including business and
technology studies and a knowledge of contemporary styles, including jazz and
world music. Nine out of 10 professional musicians are self- employed, it
says, and most can make a living only by turning to teaching, session work and
composition, as well as traditional concert hall performances." The Observer (UK) 09/29/02

WINNING
FORMULA: Naxos, the budget classical music label, is 15 years old. While
other recording companies abandon classical music, Naxos has thrived. "As
the pioneering budget-priced CD label, Naxos secured a market foothold it has
never lost. With the release of 500 CDs annually and sales of 10 million, it
is now the largest classical label in the world. 'Making a CD today costs not
even one dollar. So we can even sell in China, where CDs sell for $2 or $3,
and make a small profit'." Toronto Star
10/01/02

WHEN
REHEARSALS GO WRONG: Toronto's Canadian Opera Company replaced its lead
soprano for the opening night performance of Queen of Spades last week
after the singer flew to Armenia to her father's death bed three days before
the production's dress rehearsal. Though she returned in time for the
rehearsal, the company replaced her, saying they had told her not to go if she
couldn't be back well in advance of the rehearsal. and that she wasn't
prepared. The Globe & Mail (Canada) 10/01/02

RATTLE'S NEW
REGIME: Simon Rattle has only recently taken over as music director of the
Berlin Philharmonic. But his presence is changing the very nature of the
world's most celebrated orchestra. “It’s amazing that this collection of
130 very disparate and opinionated people is able to smell the changing of the
seasons, almost like an animal. Many of us felt that there was no way to stop
the clock, or turn it back.” The Times (UK)
10/01/02